Louis Russell Chauvenet (February 12, 1920 – June 24, 2003) was an American champion chess player and one of the founders of science fiction fandom.
Biography
Chess
Chauvenet was the U.S. Amateur Champion in 1959, as well as state champion for Virginia in 1942 through 1948 and for Maryland in 1963, 1969 and 1976. He also wrote columns for Chess Life. Chauvenet reached the level of Expert, a rating better than nine out of 10 chess players involved in tournament play.
In 1991, Chauvenet won the fourth National Deaf Championship, in Austin, Texas. In 1992, at Edinburgh, Scotland, the International Committee of Silent Chess awarded him its Grandmaster title. He also co-founded the National Fantasy Fan Federation, with Damon Knight and Art Widner, and was a member of First Fandom.
He coined the word fanzine in the October 1940 issue of his fanzine Detours and was for many years a member of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA). He later coined prozine, a term for professionally published magazines containing science fiction stories.
Other avocations
Chauvenet was also an enthusiastic sailor, who built his own Windmill class sailboat and participated in regattas, as well as a medal-winning runner.